Gmail and Apple Mail are two of the most-used email apps, but there's a key distinction between them. While the former is a full-fledged email provider, the latter is more popular as a client app, where you can toggle between multiple accounts.
The Gmail email service sends and receives emails. You can then use any of the Gmail email clients—the web app, iOS app, and Android app—to access it, or you can use a different, third-party email client, like Outlook or Spark.
Apple Mail is just an email client that's available on iOS, iPadOS, visionOS, and macOS. But you can use almost any email service with it—including Gmail. (Apple offers its own email service, iCloud Mail, but that's not what we're looking at here.)
I've used both of these apps in the past, and to write this comparison, I spent lots of time revisiting them. Here's what I found.
Table of contents:
Apple Mail vs. Gmail at a glance
Given the fundamental differences between Gmail and Apple Mail, I'm going to be comparing the experience of using the iOS Gmail app and the iOS Apple Mail app (called Mail) on an iPhone, and to a lesser extent, using the Gmail web app and the macOS Apple Mail app (again, just called Mail) on a Mac.
If you use a Windows PC or Android phone, the decision is made for you already: Apple Mail simply isn't available. Your choice is between Gmail and Outlook on a PC, and between Gmail and your smartphone manufacturer's default app on an Android.
Before diving in, this quick table highlights some of the major points of comparison between Gmail and Apple Mail. Take a look, or keep reading for the deeper dive.
Gmail | Apple Mail | |
|---|---|---|
iPhone user experience | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Gmail app is well thought out and functional | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Not the most advanced email client, but a super solid iOS app |
Mac user experience | ⭐⭐ Just a web app—with all that entails | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A decent Mac email client, though again, not the most advanced |
Managing multiple accounts | ⭐⭐ Although it's possible to manage multiple accounts through Gmail, it isn't a great experience | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Apple Mail handles multiple email accounts from different email services with ease |
Advanced email features | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Gmail has most of the pro email features, like automatic inbox sorting and scheduled send | ⭐⭐⭐ Apple has gradually added more advanced features to Mail, and it's slowly catching up to Gmail |
AI features | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Gemini can write emails, summarize long threads, and more—though it costs $4.99/month | ⭐⭐⭐ Apple Intelligence can rewrite and proofread your emails, and it's included for free |
Apple Mail works better with every email service
As an email client, Apple Mail is pretty agnostic to what email service you use. All its features, like a VIP Inbox, undo send, customizable notifications, priority messages, and email reminders, are available whether you use iCloud Mail, Outlook, Gmail, or anything else.
A big upside to this is that, if you have multiple email accounts with different services, they're all treated the same. The Outlook email account you use for work can live alongside your personal Gmail, and both will have the same interface and features.
While both the Gmail apps for iOS and Android and the Gmail web app allow you to add other email accounts, the process is less intuitive. I also encountered multiple issues with it while testing things for this article. While adding an Outlook account, for example, the login page refused to load multiple times, and when it did work, I ran into data errors.
There are two ways to add a non-Google account to Gmail. The first option is to just add an email account to the Gmail mobile app; it then works like a regular client, albeit with a fairly limited set of features. Alternatively, you can use Gmailify for certain email accounts (including Yahoo, AOL, and Outlook) to add Google's features like spam protection and automatic email sorting, but this requires you to have an existing Gmail account and doesn't work with Google Workspace accounts.
The second option is to set the Gmail web app up to send and receive emails from your existing account over POP3 or receive forwarded messages. Again, you'll need an existing Gmail account to do it, and the overall experience is workable, but not great. All your emails come into the same inbox, and Gmail just isn't set up to handle multiple accounts from different providers nicely.
The Gmail apps work best with Gmail (and other Google services)
Because Google controls both the Gmail email service and the app, they work really well together. Not only is it much faster at fetching emails, but you also get exclusive access to some of Gmail's most advanced perks, like the ability to password-protect messages, the ability to unsubscribe from newsletters in a single tap, an intelligent search that ranks emails by relevancy instead of chronological order, and more.
And Gmail is just one of the services Google offers. If you also rely on Google Calendar for appointments, Google Keep to take notes, Google Meet to make calls, and Google Docs for other work, the various Google apps integrate beautifully.
For example, tap into a contact, and you have the option to schedule a meeting with them in Google Calendar, message them through Google Chat, or call them using Google Meet (provided they also have it). Or if someone emails you a link to a Google Doc, the Gmail iOS app adds a button to your inbox that opens and saves it directly in the Docs iOS app; and if you're the one looking to share a file, you can attach anything in your Drive directly from the attachments option.
Things are even better with the Gmail web app. Google Calendar, Google Keep, and Google Tasks are all available in the right sidebar, while Chat and Meet can be accessed from the left sidebar.
Gmail has a rudimentary integration with Google's Gemini chatbot inside its web app that you can check out for free. You can grant it access to your inbox, and it will search and analyze your messages for you. But if you want to use AI to write and reply to emails, summarize long email threads, or pull out action items, you'll need to both use an official Gmail app and pay $4.99/month for the Google One AI Premium plan or a Workspace plan that includes Gemini.
Apple Mail, on the other hand, offers most of Gmail's AI perks for free on its devices. Like Gmail, it comes with an AI-powered search, the ability to summarize and write emails from scratch for you, and suggested quick smart replies.
Given the recurring cost, I'm not sure the AI features are worth the upgrade on their own in Gmail. But if you're deep in Google's ecosystem, already use Google's Gemini chatbot, and need more Google Drive space, then they're essentially just part of the deal.
Still, they're just another example of how Gmail works best if you treat it as one part of the whole Google ecosystem. It's not that you can't use Gemini or Google Docs and Apple Mail, but they won't integrate as seamlessly.
Apple Mail is a nicer experience on Apple devices
While Gmail plays nicer with Google's other services, Apple Mail feels more coherent with the rest of the Apple ecosystem—particularly on a Mac.
Since Gmail doesn't have a native macOS app, it doesn't use the system notifications. It can send push notifications through your browser so long as you have the tab open, but that's not quite the same. (And to be entirely honest, despite trying for 30 minutes, I couldn't get it to work with either of my Gmail accounts in either Safari or Google Chrome.) The better option is to grab something like Mimestream, but that adds another layer of complexity to everything.
Also, Apple and Google have different design philosophies. Apple's Mail app on iOS and Mac feels like an iOS or Mac app, while Gmail feels like an Android app stuck on an iPhone (and doesn't have a Mac app). There are even a few ads.
With Mail on an iPhone, for example, when you swipe from the left, you go back a screen, the same as you do in iMessage, Calendar, and every other native application that abides by Apple's design conventions. With the Gmail iPhone app, however, when you swipe from the left, you bring up a sidebar. It's not that you can't get used to it, but it's different.
Apple Mail is more private
While Apple Intelligence may not be as powerful as Google's Gemini, it is far more private, and that particularly matters inside your email inbox. Not only is Apple Mail ad-free, but it also works locally on your device. This means your data is not permanently stored on an AI server and is not used to train and improve algorithms, unlike Gmail.
I also appreciate how Apple's Mail Privacy Protection tool protects your emails from advertisers. It hides your IP, so that senders can't track your activity or connect it to the rest of your online activity. Plus, you can hide your real email address and generate random, unique ones that can forward messages to your mail inbox.
Gmail app vs. Apple Mail: Which should you use?
If you have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac and don't use a Gmail email address, the choice is simple: use Apple Mail. The Gmail app just isn't great at handling other email services.
Apple Mail is also the clear winner if you have multiple accounts from different email providers and want to use one app to manage them all. It integrates much more easily with Outlook and other email services, and has native apps on both iOS and macOS devices.
Similarly, if you have Apple devices and a Gmail account but don't rely on Gmail's advanced features, like Smart Replies and automatic inbox sorting, then Apple Mail is a great option. You can send and receive emails from your Gmail account with an Apple user experience.
With all that said, if you're deep in Google's ecosystem, all this might be a moot point. The Gmail app on iOS is great, though not particularly Apple-like. The Gmail web app is incredibly functional and integrates really nicely with every other Google service. If you spend all day bouncing between Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, and Google Gemini, it's the obvious choice.
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This article was originally published in September 2022 by Harry Guinness. The most recent update was in October 2026.
